Recaro gets lifeline following bankruptcy – UPDATE

12/04/2024 07:38 PM

UPDATE, Thursday 5 December 2024: Less than six months after Recaro’s German arm filed for bankruptcy, the company appears to have found a saviour.

First reported by website Piston Heads, it appears an Italian automotive supplier named Proma Group has stepped in, signing an investment agreement with Recaro Automotive.

Proma, which also manufactures car seats and reportedly has 26 factories on three continents, will take over the Recaro business and restart production in early 2025.

“Our investment in Recaro Automotive will strengthen our ability to deliver a premium seating product, while embracing the most cutting-edge innovations in the automotive sector,” Proma Group CEO Luca Pino reportedly said following the announcement.

While Recaro Automotive is an original equipment manufacturer to brands such as BMW and Ford, Ineos was forced to temporarily halt production after Recaro was unable to deliver seats for its Grenadier.

The news won’t affect Recaro’s North American and Japanese operations, which are separate business units.

Our original story continues unchanged below.

5 August 2024: Days after it was revealed Recaro and BBS are having financial difficulties, sim-racing company Fanatec has announced its parent company has filed for insolvency.

Fanatec is one of the industry’s leading manufacturers of steering wheels, pedals, and simulation cockpits for racing video games – and is the official partner of Gran Turismo, Forza, the World Rally Championship, and NASCAR.

The company also has licensing agreements with McLaren, BMW, and Porsche.

However, a statement from Endor AG – the parent company of Fanatec – says computer game hardware manufacturer Corsair has announced its intention to acquire Endor, providing a glimmer of hope for fans of Fanatec’s products.

Recaro’s Japanese arm has also issued a written statement in recent days, clarifying the recent bankruptcy news was limited to Recaro in Germany.

It confirms separate Recaro entities in North America and Japan are unaffected by the latest developments with Recaro Germany, with the two companies affirming their commitment to developing, manufacturing, and selling car seats.

31 July 2024: Two of the most iconic companies in the automotive industry – Recaro and BBS – have hit hard financial times.

Recaro – best known for creating sports bucket seats for cars – filed for bankruptcy, according to German website Automobilwoche, while alloy-wheel company BBS filed for insolvency.

Along with baby car seats and chairs for commercial airliners, Recaro is an original equipment supplier to the likes of BMW, Ford, Porsche, and Volkswagen, among others, but rose to prominence by creating fixed bucket seats for racing and reclinable sports seats for modified cars.

While BMW continues to use Recaro seats in its M cars – and has done so since its M division began making models for the road – and Ford continues a 40-year tradition by fitting them to the Mustang S650, several car makers have moved production of sports seats in-house.

Recaro seats were a trademark of Honda’s Type R performance cars for many years – including the EK9/EP3 Civic, and DC2/DC5 Integra – but by the late 2000s, Honda had stopped using Recaros, and instead created its own high-bolstered sports seats.

MORE: Retro comfort – Ford adds iconic Recaro seats to classic Mustang catalogue

Ford Performance also began manufacturing its own seats for sporty hot hatch models, dropping Recaro seats as a standard feature from the Fiesta ST, Puma ST, and Focus ST in late 2021.

The increase in international trade has also meant a sharp rise in the number of fake Recaro seats on the market, allowing buyers to get the look at a fraction of the cost.

The automotive division of Recaro was split from the larger Recaro Group in 2020, and bought by investment firm Raven Acquisitions in 2020. It’s understood the company employs 215 workers.

It’s not clear at this stage whether the application for bankruptcy spells the end of Recaro, or whether the company can restructure its finances and continue on.

Meanwhile, BBS has also declared itself insolvent – the fifth time in recent years it has done so, Drive understands, with the last insolvency event occurring in September 2023.

MORE: Japanese company releases moulds to cast your own BBS wheels out of chocolate

Multiple reports claim its 270 workers were not paid in May or June.

BBS is an original equipment supplier of wheels to Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and AMG, Porsche, Stellantis, and Volkswagen Group – as well as being the exclusive supplier of wheels to Formula One since 2022.

Like Recaro, BBS has suffered from a significant rise in the number of fake and cheap alloy wheel makers replicating its iconic designs.

It’s understood BBS has been placed into administration at this time.

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